"How One Book Changed My Relationship With Money" (article about YMOL)

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For me, the value of the book was not in the charts or the process or the investment advice - it was the higher-level concepts.

Yes, here too. Although granted, I didnt read the book until I wss well into my 40's, but I knew the concepts. It was a well kmown book. When I was in hgh school I had an older lady friend who wrote down every expenditure,wrote it on a little pad of paper. That fascinated me because I liked the idea of tracking.

I never did track, thpigh. I took an approwch of "dont apend mney unless you absolutely have to" and that worked for me. I enjoyed the game of not spending it.

I think simple living was in my genes or upbringing and I've never had an issue with managing finances, but YMOYL still had a significant influence on me. The value I saw was redefining in'es relationship to work, money, and the FI lifestyle. I'm glad the book or concepts are still kicking around for others. It almost feels like we might be having another period of general economic prosperity like the dot com era when the book became popular.

The Dave Ramseys and Susie Ormans and maybe even Mister Money Mustache have some of the money aspects close to being right, but totally miss the philosophy of a more simple lifestyle.

For me the big eye opener in YMOYL was the concept of the dollar value of my time. I was already living within my means when I met Dave Wampler (he was a college friend of a friend of mine so when friend and I went to Mt Hood on vacation the week that Princess Diana died we planned a side trip to Trout Lake WA) and learned about the book, but I was just sort of drifting aimlessly financially, saving to my 401k and paying off my credit card each month but that was the extent of my money management. Once I started tracking my expenses by hours of life energy I got way more focused. I haven't tracked in years, but now anytime I spend money I contemplate the minutes/hours worked and think about how I'll need to work that much longer before I reach my retirement goal. So I guess I am still tracking, just at the minute level of each transaction.

Yes, tracking. We paid off our house mortgage of $130,000 in three years by tracking. We were both working at well paying jobs, kids had just left home and we were in our mid fourties. We sold extra stuff, worked any extra we could and viola, the realization of our true early retirement plan. To this day we still carefully evealuate what we buy. It is very hard for me to enjoy a restaurant meal because I always think I could buys least half a weeks worth of healthy meals at the farmers market and grocery for what this one meal costs. Which is almost always less healthy and does not even taste as well as what I can cook.

Another YMOYL article. Looks like Vicki Robin is quite the star these days. I was over 40 when I finally read the book, and it still changed my finances dramatically. Wish I'd read it when it came out, when I was in my 20s.

For me the big eye opener in YMOYL was the concept of the dollar value of my time........ Once I started tracking my expenses by hours of life energy I got way more focused. I haven't tracked in years, but now anytime I spend money I contemplate the minutes/hours worked and think about how I'll need to work that much longer before I reach my retirement goal. So I guess I am still tracking, just at the minute level of each transaction.

Ditto.... Except we still track and I suspect always will. Recording holds us accountable for MINDFUL spending.

I read the book in the late 90s. I did all the steps of detailed record keeping and analysis of life value. debt free before 50 exceeding our plan-that would NOT have happened without YMOYL.